UPDATE: Texas game to air live

Jared Ainswort, Beaumont Enterprise

By Jared Ainsworth

Updated 11:11 pm, Monday, October 1, 2012

Texas quarterback David Ash (14) talks with his teammates on the bench in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. Texas won 41-36. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Photo: Sue Ogrocki, STF

Texas quarterback David Ash (14) talks with his teammates on the...

Texas coach Mack Brown shouts from the sidelines during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. Texas won 41-36. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Photo: Sue Ogrocki, STF

Texas coach Mack Brown shouts from the sidelines during the fourth...

Texas quarterback David Ash (14) throws under pressure from Oklahoma State defensive tackle Calvin Barnett (99) during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012. Texas won 41-36. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Photo: Sue Ogrocki, STF

And it went in favor of the big school in Austin, causing fans of the smaller one here in Beaumont to wait.

The Texas football showdown Saturday night against West Virginia will be aired live nationally on Fox, but the local affiliate KBTV originally planned to broadcast the Lamar game at Northwestern State instead.

That didn't sit well with local viewers who complained to the station Monday.

"We had gotten a lot, a lot, a lot of response from the community wanting to see the Texas game," KBTV Fox 4 news director Angel San Juan said.

Texas moved to No. 11 in the The Associated Press poll after winning Saturday at Oklahoma State 41-36, making this game against No. 8 West Virginia the biggest since UT's last national title game appearance.

Now with Lamar pushed to tape delay status - the game is scheduled to air at 9:30 p.m. Saturday - Lamar athletic director Jason Henderson said the school is looking at other options.

"I think it's going to be on live," Henderson said. "It's just going to be on a different channel. I'm just not sure of all of the details right now. We're still working on all of those things."

Lamar and Fox 4 are in the final year of a three-year deal to air at least three Lamar football games per season, two on the road and one at home.

Only recently was the Texas game Saturday scheduled to be aired by Fox, causing the conflict with the Lamar game.

Fox 4 has aired two games this season, Sept. 15 at Hawaii and Sept. 22 at home against Langston. The game against Langston preempted locally the game that night between Oklahoma and Kansas State.

The station tape delayed Lamar games in 2010, the first season for the revived football program, but has not since then.